Five players have averaged double-digit points and rebounds in each of the last two seasons. Most basketball fans would immediate think of four: Lakers teammates Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol, Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love and Clippers power forward Blake Griffin.
As for the fifth player, it’s unlikely fans initially would think to put Nets power forward Kris Humphries on a list of that caliber. But for Humphries, now entering his third full season with the Nets, that’s just fine with him.
“Since I got in the league, I’ve been a guy that’s had to work for everything, and grind it out to stay in the league, and get in this position, so I don’t really care,” Humphries said after a recent practice. “To me, it’s about our team, winning in Brooklyn.
“That’s all … everything else doesn’t matter. When you’ve played basketball … you just want to win. When you win, everyone gets paid, everyone is having a good time and the team feels good.”
Humphries, who missed Monday’s practice following the death of his grandfather, was one of the lone bright spots for the Nets over the last two seasons, providing a durable, stable presence in the paint and grabbing every rebound he could.
Last season, his first full year as a starter in the NBA, Humphries put together his best season, finishing with career highs in several categories including points (13.8) and rebounds (11.0).
Now, after the Nets have undergone a dramatic makeover both on and off the court as they prepare to begin play in Brooklyn this season, Humphries is ready to do the same thing all over again.
“I’m going to take the same mindset coming into this year that I always take,” he said. “Play hard, do what I have to do to help my team. For me, it’s all about winning and whatever we’ve got to do to win.
“It’s not, ‘I have to show that I can do this’ this year and not this or whatever. It’s just, ‘Let’s win. Let’s get Brooklyn going.’ … It’s not about anything individual. I think if we play as well as we’re preparing to play, no one’s going to care who is doing what. It’s all going to be about we’re having a great time winning.”
That winning will depend upon the new-look Nets coming together on the court. Even though four of the five starters — Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace, Brook Lopez and Humphries — were on the team last year, they never played in a game together.
But Humphries is excited about the possibilities of what that group, along with shooting guard Joe Johnson, can accomplish.
“We have such a dynamic group,” he said. “As we get going, it’s just going to get better and better. We’re just getting through camp and stuff right now, but as we get towards the end of preseason, everyone starts to get their legs all the way back under them and we’re gelling as a team and knowing each other’s tendencies and all the plays are coming together. …
“I think it’ll be pretty cool. It’ll be fun to be part of a team like that.”